Two teenagers accused of beating a Vietnam Veteran last month learned their fate on Wednesday.
Ed Schaefer, 64, lost his eye in a grenade attack while serving in the Vietnam War. On January 17, he was injured in a different kind of battle, as a group of teens ambushed him from behind in the Olney section of Philadelphia, according to police. The attack, which police say was a robbery attempt, left Schaefer with a fractured skull.
The grandfather of four was on his way to meet his wife at about 6 p.m. Tuesday. Police say two or three teens approached him from behind while he was walking on the 5000 block of N 5th Street.
The teens beat Schaefer so badly that he was left with serious injuries to his face, head and hand including a broken skull and orbital bone around the eye he lost at war, according to authorities.
(WARNING: Photo of Schaefer just after the attack is graphic)
When they were done, the suspects left the injured man and ran south on 5th Street from the scene, police say. Police also say the robbers made off with a cell phone and nothing more.
The socket of Schaefer's bad eye was broken, and doctors struggled to deal with the fact that removing the prosthesis could cause his face to collapse, sources said.
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The next night, authorities identified all the teens in the original surveillance video but claimed only two or three of the teens actually participated in the beating while the others just happened to be walking by in the moments before the attack.
One of the suspects, a 15-year-old, was in custody on January 18.
The second suspect, another 15-year-old, turned himself into police on January 20.
During a court hearing on Wednesday, the teens were sentenced to four years at a youth detention center for aggravated assault, robbery and conspiracy charges. The judge also ordered the teens to split Schaefer's mounting medical bills as he continues to recover.
Schaefer recently retired after years of working with other veterans, helping them find jobs. He's also very involved with the Boys Scouts of America, his family says. He showed up for Wednesday's hearing and had a message for the teens.
"You got a lot of peer pressure," said Schaefer. "Try not to fold to it. And if you have to and you don't have parents, there are people out there who will listen to you."
